Homebrewing notes, the beer scene in Indiana,PA and the region, and whatever else I feel like writing about (almost always beer-related).

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Mojo in a Bottle - Voodoo's In Town

As I write this, I'm just finishing up a bomber of Voodoo Love Child; the first of six varieties from Matt Allyn's Voodoo Brewery in Meadville. Well, I should say, the first of six in the variety case that I bought this evening from Duquesne Beer Distributor (who gets their stuff from Vecenie).

Dave, Jon, Eli, and I ordered up two of the sampler cases (12 22oz bombers) and split them so that we each got one. This included: Voodoo Love Child, Grand Met, White Magick of the Sun, 4 Seasons IPA, Pilzilla, and Wynona's Big Brown Ale. With cost & tax in our little hamlet, it works out to $6.25 per bottle; not outrageous, but not the cheapest in the region.

Regardless, we've been hearing about Voodoo for a while now; via Bryson's site and Pittsburgh papers. Well, after having the Voodoo Love Child, I'm happy with the wait. I think for most of these beers, I may have to split another sampler pack or simply buy a whole case of each over time and set them in a cellar for a while. Love Child is still hot, but might be able to survive several years like a lambic and settle down a bit.

I got a bit wordy in my review, but here goes:

From bomber. Fruity vaporous aroma, with mild alcohol. Kirschwasser, cherry skins and fruity esters. Light tripel aroma with mild yeasty notes. Fruity and sweet, rich in smell. Each sniff gets you a little something different. Golden orange-pink-amber cloudy body. Starts initially with a pillowy white head, that dissipates to a thin veneer with a bit of lacing. The carbonation is fairly robust starting out, then smooths a bit as it sits. The beer itself is rather light bodied despite the flavors, no doubt helped along by the 9.5% alcohol. There is prominent warming from the start, and this would make an excellent after dinner or dessert beer on crisp Fall evenings. It starts with a subtle hit of fruit, with a dry carbonic tang that tapers off to give resonant notes of over-ripe cherries, raspberry must, and what must be passion fruit (not really familiar with the fruit itself). Alcohol and a fruity dry tartness that’s reminiscent of a Riesling, actually. The hops are subtle in flavor, but provide a lifting bitterness in the finish which helps subdue the tart fruity character. This is not an overly sweet beer, despite candy sugar on the label. The after leaves you with a nice fruity profile, mild yeast-hop bitterness, and some dry chalky coating on the palate. Overall, it’s a bit thin until you get some of the dregs in there. A little extra body and yeasty character is added by that. Would be interesting to set this down for a year and see how it cools down.